SF Gate

The city council of Berkeley recently passed a resolution naming the United States Marine Corps "unwanted invaders" (which, I believe, constitutes an act of secession), and granting a weekly parking spot and exemption from noise permits for anti-military protesters. Yesterday, three persons (alleged in the article to be "Code Pink," but not wearing normal Code Pink attire) handcuffed themselves to the front door of the Marine Corps recruiting station in Berkeley and prevented people from entering. It was seven and one-half hours before the police arrested the protesters.
I was reading the comments on an article at sfgate.com regarding the incident, and I have some rebuttals to the liberal talking points there. I'm not interested in registering with the website to post my comments there, but perhaps they will be generally enlightening:


1. "You right-wing Fascist"- While Fascism is defined as "ultra-right wing" in most dictionaries, it should be noted that this refers to the European right wing (as in Italy and Germany)--thoroughly socialist. The right wing in the United States, however, refers to free-market economy and minimized government influence on the private citizen.


2. "This is a free-speech issue"- The First Amendment to Constitution of the United States of America does not "give you the right" to say or do anything you want; it prohibits Congress from passing laws abridging free speech. Assaulting people attempting to enter a building is a crime, period. Protest all you want; don't interfere with someone else's freedom.
http://www.krusch.com/real/under.html

3. "There is no more Communist or Socialist party in the U. S."-
sp-usa.org/
www.cpusa.org/

4. "We are at war because the 'military-industrial complex' has learned that war is profitable" "The war in Iraq has bankrupted the coffers of the United States"- Usually uttered by the same person. 'Nuff said.

5. "All of my conspiracy theories aren't reported in the media because of their right-wing bias"-
http://www.newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/Media-Bias-Is-Real-Finds-UCLA-6664.aspx?RelNum=6664

6. "Jim DeMint is trying to defund public programs in Berkely in retaliation"- actually, Senator DeMint is asking that congressional earmarksfor Berkely be removed from the omnibus spending bill, and the money given to the U. S. Marine Corps. Actual public programs would not be affected.
http://demint.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=JimsJournal.Detail&Blog_ID=f3dbe45e-2252-4940-8614-2d80cca0834d
Of course, I personally support withdrawal of all federal and state funding from Berkely until they recognize federal authority.

7. "The opposite of funding war is funding education. There is reason that so many universities lean to the left"-
Yes, there is: http://www.indoctrinate-u.com/intro/

8. "The rich don't pay taxes; they have to poor to do that for them"-
Actually, the top 1% of incomes provide more tax revenue than the bottom 90%:
http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2007/10/top-1-pay-more-.html

9. "America was founded by secular-progressives"- The founding fathers were definitely not secular; many of them (notably George Washington and Benjamin Franklin) were Freemasons, which requires a religious affiliation. Several were even ordained ministers. As for "progressive," the definition of that word has changed. They certainly wanted to change from the status quo of their day, but they were very modern in outlook, and were quite vocal in their dissent from many of the post-modern positions which comprise today's "progressive" movement.

I have answered the allegations of "illegal war" and "unwinnable, Viet Nam-esque quagmires" in other fora; I would be happy to do so again in reponse to a comment here, but this is enough for the present post.